Bud Light Revamps Ad Approach for Super Bowl
January 18 2017 - 07:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Suzanne Vranica
Anheuser-Busch InBev is reworking its Bud Light advertising and
will use the Super Bowl to show off its new creative direction.
The world's largest brewer said it will air a 60-second spot for
Bud Light, the nation's top-selling beer, as it tries to revitalize
the brand, which has suffered shrinking market share and sales.
Light beer brands more broadly have struggled as consumers opt for
craft brews and Mexican lagers.
The new campaign, which is being crafted by Wieden+Kennedy, will
carry a new tagline: "Famous Among Friends."
Although Anheuser-Busch has not revealed what the new Bud Light
ads will look like, viewers should "not expect celebrities" and
should "not expect epic films," said Marcel Marcondes, vice
president of U.S. marketing at Anheuser-Busch. Instead, Mr.
Marcondes said the new ads will highlight the classic moments that
"we all go through with our friends."
The new direction is a dramatic change from the brand's last
major ad push, "The Bud Light Party," which was introduced during
last year's Super Bowl and featured comedians Amy Schumer and Seth
Rogen. The brewer pulled the plug on that ad effort after it failed
to improve sales for Bud Light.
Beer Marketer's Insights estimates that U.S. shipments of Bud
Light fell between 2.5% to 3.5% last year.
Anheuser-Busch will once again be one of the largest advertisers
in Super Bowl, which will air on Feb. 5 on Fox. The company, which
is making its 28th consecutive appearance in the big game, has
purchased three minutes of ad time this year. It will also air
commercials for its Budweiser, Michelob Ultra and Busch brands
during the Super Bowl.
This will be the first time Busch, one of Anheuser-Busch's value
brands, is airing a spot in the big game.
The Budweiser spot, which is being created by Anomaly, will
highlight the pursuit of the American dream by focusing on Adolphus
Busch, the co-founder of Anheuser-Busch. The famous Clydesdale
horses, long a fixture of Bud advertising for the title game, will
make a cameo.
Fox is still selling ad time for the broadcast and has been
asking advertisers to fork over roughly $5 million for 30 seconds
worth of time, more than double the amount advertisers paid 10
years ago, when spots cost about $2.39 million, according to
ad-tracker Kantar Media. Nearly 112 million people in the U.S.
watched the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers during last
year's Super Bowl.
Write to Suzanne Vranica at suzanne.vranica@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2017 07:34 ET (12:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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